


How Endlessly You Fall

by why_me_why_not



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV), Supernatural
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:21:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29437449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/why_me_why_not/pseuds/why_me_why_not
Summary: JJ's not the type of woman who takes home a man she meets in a bar, yet here she is with this hot, probably dangerous, stranger riding shotgun. (written in the early seasons of both shows)
Relationships: Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/Dean Winchester
Kudos: 22





	How Endlessly You Fall

JJ's not the type of woman who takes home a man she meets in a bar, yet here she is with this hot, probably dangerous, stranger riding shotgun. And she's driving when she's over the legal limit, but if she's going to go against one her self-imposed rules, she may as well break them all. It's a good thing they're going back to her place now, or she might go in to work tomorrow morning with a new tattoo.

They're debating the Greatest Horror Films of All Times when she brakes suddenly to avoid a dog. The mutt stands and stares for a moment before moving on his way. Even after he's out of sight, JJ sits in the middle of the road, fingers clinching the steering wheel. It was a dirty yellow lab mix in front of them, but all she can see are the dogs from Hankel's, growling at her and baring teeth shiny with the blood of that poor woman. 

JJ jumps when she feels something brush against her arm. 

"Hey, you okay?" The voice is brusque, no-nonsense, and she turns her eyes to Dean to find him watching her with a look that's a mix of worry and wary.

She nods quickly, emphatically, and forces a smile. "Yeah, I'm okay." She thinks that if she can convince him, then maybe she'll believe it herself. "Sorry." She loosens her death grip on the wheel and moves her foot from the brake to the gas.

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure." He probably thinks she's off her rocker, and maybe she is. She's certainly felt herself slipping these last few weeks.

JJ reaches down and turns on the radio, the easy laughter of their conversation broken by her own thoughts. She can't help but smile at the irony of Metallica blaring from the speakers, since Dean had first tried to tell her his name was James Hetfield.

Apparently he doesn't use his real name often, which should have been enough to warn her to keep her distance, but she didn't. Especially after she accidentally overheard a snippet of conversation between him and his brother. 

_"What the hell are you doing, giving her your real name?"_

_"She's hot."_

_"She's hot? Oh yeah, lets risk everything because_ she's hot _! She's an_ FBI agent _, Dean! Jesus!"_

_"Sammy, I know this may be hard for you to understand, since you haven't gotten laid in months, but sometimes it's a nice change to hear your_ real name _when you fuck someone."_

JJ's first thought was that their minds were both planning the same end to the night. Then she put some things together and realized who he was. Who _they_ were. It made her doubt her instincts a little less. 

Thinking about it, she finds it ironic that he told her his real name when she had introduced herself as Jennifer. Technically, it is her name, but it's not the one she uses. Dean wants to be with someone who will use his real name. She wants someone who doesn't know her as JJ, doesn't know what happened. It's a win-win situation. 

JJ pulls up in front of her townhouse and shifts the car into park. If she hesitates, it's not because she's having second thoughts about _them_ , but because she doesn't do this. Dean's hand is warm and solid against the back of her neck as he pulls her into a kiss. Yeah, he seems to know what he's doing, so she goes along with it.

She wants to protest when he pulls away, but he's looking at her expectantly and she blushes when she realizes they're sitting in the driveway like a couple of teenagers. She leads the way into the house, dropping her keys onto the desk in the living room beside the laptop she hasn't opened in weeks. She never used the webcam on it, never called tech support, but she's still nervous about it. 

"You want a drink or something? I'm not sure what I've got..." She turns toward the kitchen and doesn't notice Dean moving across the floor until he's wrapping his arms around her from behind.

"No, only you."

The timbre of his voice sends a shiver of anticipation coursing through her and she turns to meet him in a kiss. "Good."

She feels his hands sliding up and down her back, and she slides her own hands inside his jacket and around his back, feeling his muscles underneath her palms and pulling him closer to feel his body pressing against hers. She's drowning in a sea of sensation and she wants more -- more touches, more kisses, more skin. Definitely less clothes.

"Bedroom." Her voice is a breathy whisper. She hopes she's still got enough control that she doesn't sound completely wanton, but she doubts it. It doesn't matter anyway, because he's following as she leads the way down the hall, a trail of clothes marking their passage.

******************************************

JJ wakes with suddenly, but she manages not to jump. Dean's still wrapped around her from behind, and the arm around her waist tightens a bit, pulling her into the warmth and comfort he provides.

"Nightmare?" 

She's not surprised that he's awake; she's pretty sure that he's a light sleeper. She shifts around so she can see his face. 

He gently brushes her hair away from her face. "You wanna talk about it?"

She shakes her head. It was a nightmare, but it was different than the ones before. Not as disturbing. 

Dean half-smiles at her. "Sam has nightmares too. He never wants to talk about his either."

"Do you?"

"What, want to talk about them?"

"No, do you have nightmares?" 

Dean shakes his head, and even though JJ's pretty sure he's lying, she can't tell for sure. He's experienced at hiding himself, which makes him really hard to read.

"I'm surprised, with the things you must have seen." She can't tell if the look he gives her is more confused or alarmed, but she realizes that she didn't mean to let that out. With a sigh, she says, "I know who you are."

Dean shifts back an fraction of distance, but she can feel the wall coming up between them. 

"I'm not going to turn you in. I... I know you're one of the good guys, for lack of a better term."

"How do you know _anything_ about me?"

JJ laughs lightly. "Dean, you're on the FBI's most wanted list. But our team, the BAU, came across your fingerprints at one of our crime scenes. When your name was brought up, though, one of the senior members of our team, Jason Gideon, immediately shot it down. Said you couldn't be our guy, that he knew your father and that he knew you and Sam weren't killers. He also said that if you were investigating the same crimes we were, then it probably wasn't something we could handle." She watches Dean for his reaction but still has no idea what he's thinking. "I don't know what exactly it _is_ that you and Sam do, but I know that I don't want to keep you from that." 

The clock on the wall marks time loudly for what seems like forever while they just stare at each other. Finally, Dean shifts back to where he had been laying and pulls her back into his arms. "Go back to sleep," he says, kissing her forehead. 

She does, and when she wakes up, she's alone. She knew she would be, and strangely enough, it doesn't bother her. She wraps the bedsheet around herself and crosses to the window. The sun is just peeking over the mountain, bathing the world in gold and scarlet hues, and she smiles. Something inside her feels happier, more free, than she's been in a while, and she thinks it's probably because some of her faith in the innate _goodness_ of people has been restored. 

She presses her fingers against the cold glass and whispers, "Be safe, Dean."


End file.
